McSally, the first female fighter pilot and a veteran of Iraq and
Afghanistan, told the crowd at the CSIS event about her
experiences as an A-10 pilot laying down close air support for US
troops during the 2000s.

"It's an amazing airplane to fly, but it's really cool to shoot
the gun," said McSally. "The folklore as A-10 pilots that we pass
around is that we built the gun, and told the engineers 'figure
out how to fly this gun.'"

"The gun, 30 millimeters is just amazing." said McSally. "When
you shoot the gun, the whole airplane shakes. The first time you
shoot the gun, you think the airplane's breaking up."

The
GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling gun next to a VW Type 1. Removing an
installed GAU-8 from an A-10 requires first installing a jack
under the aircraft's tail to prevent it from tipping, as the
cannon makes up most of the aircraft's forward
weight.US
Air Force photo

In practice, the A-10's gun is actually more precise than even the newest,
most accurate GPS or laser-guided bombs, which can often cost up
to a million dollars each.

"In Afghanistan ... we used mostly the gun," said McSally, "It's
a very precise weapon and it allows for minimizing collateral
damage and fratricide because the weapon's footprint is so tight.
We can roll in and precisely go after the target while it keeps
Americans safe."